Posted on 10/19/2025 4:50:23 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Welcome, and congratulations. You’ve lived long enough to see the age of flying cars—privately owned, solo-piloted aircraft, free to operate in unrestricted airspace, much as automobiles can take to the open road. And they’re all electric. I knew you’d be thrilled.
Here in the future, we call them ultralight eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles). Of course, they don’t much resemble the levitating Studebakers and auto-gyrating Chevys foretold in pulp science fiction. The Pivotal BlackFly—the first series-produced ultralight eVTOL to reach the consumer market (2023)—doesn’t even have wheels. It takes off and lands on its curved keel. It’s also amphibious, behavior highly atypical in cars.
Don’t be afraid. Try the VR simulator. The two joysticks accommodate righties or lefties, but you only use one to fly. The rocker switch on top pushes/pulls for climb/descend. The joystick controls speed and turn/bank angle. The trigger switches between flight modes: Hover and Cruise. In Hover mode, the joystick provides fine-grained yaw control, allowing the BlackFly to execute its surreal pirouette.
The author gets ready for liftoff. The Pivotal BlackFly aircraft has a pilot weight limit of 200 pounds; an updated version, the Helix, offers slightly more capacity (220 pounds). Flight time is limited to 20 minutes.
To take off, simply hold the toggle switch forward. The props turn slowly in unison—calibrating, calibrating—then spool furiously, a squadron of lawn mowers on deck. The machine vaults into the air, nose-first, throwing you on your back, looking at the sky. It will just hang like that until you push the joystick forward. Remember to keep that thumb going up.
Around 100 feet, pilots transition to Cruise mode. Click the trigger and the BlackFly noses...
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
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I’ve wanted an autogyro for decades.
SKYRAGE !!!!!!!!!!
Terrific. So how’s traffic control going to work when there’s no designated flight corridors? Just random people flying them around?
If we want one can we trade in our autogyros to lower the price?
What could possibly go wrong?
Are Hellfire missiles an option?
[The author gets ready for liftoff. The Pivotal BlackFly aircraft has a pilot weight limit of 200 pounds; an updated version, the Helix, offers slightly more capacity (220 pounds). Flight time is limited to 20 minutes.]
Some 250lb DEI LGBTQ+ Drag Queen will get in one and IF they achieve liftoff will go for a 25-minute flight ✈️ (sorta, oops 😬😬😬)
After the crash 🚒🚒🚒👨🚒👨🚒👨🚒🚑🚑🚑, their family will blame President Trump and “only 2 genders”
CNN and MSNBC will have a panel of “experts”...
Zactly ... considering what controlled airspace is now? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGRcJQ9tMbY&pp=ygUTZHJ1bmsgYWlybGluZSBwaWxvdA%3D%3D
Are there lane-dividing dots or at least striped roadways 🛣️🛣️🛣️🛣️?
I like to drive. It gives me independence and autonomy. Driverless cars puts my mobility in somebody else’s hands. Something they can take away. No thanks.
CC
How much does a ma deuce plus 600 rounds 50 cal weigh?
I was watching another video, of a guy that made his own hoverboard, where he could ride it like a surfer. He said in the video that he was limited to about 60mph due to federal regulations and light flying aircraft.
A 20 minute flight time ensures this thing will be just a niche vehicle, a plaything of the rich.
Hamas would like to order the first 1,000 of these.
James Bond’s Little Nellie.
I built a variation on the Benson back around 1979. Looked pretty good. Got it to the point of putting an engine on it then said "no way." Sold it to a fellow down south.
She did it again!!!
😃😄😂🤣🤣🤣😜😛😝
What could go wrong?
Given the way people drive, perhaps Sidewinders or AAMRAMs might be a more useful armament!
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